May 18, 2011 - Ohio Gov's Approval Up, But More Still Disapprove, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Voters Back Repeal Of Law That Limits Unions Word format Ohio voters disapprove 49 - 38 percent of the job Gov. John Kasich is doing, compared to 46 - 30 disapproval in March, while by 54 - 36 percent they say that SB 5 should be repealed, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Registered voters disapprove of Kasich's handling of the state budget 53 - 35 percent compared to 51 - 31 percent disapproval in a March 23 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. And by 53 - 36 percent they say the governor's proposals are unfair to people like them, identical to the March 23 survey findings. "Gov. John Kasich's job approval has ticked up slightly, but he still has a long way to go to get back even to parity among voters," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Most of his increase has come among independents and women voters who have turned slightly less negative on him." In today's survey, independent voters disapprove of Kasich's job performance 47 - 37 percent, better than the 49 - 25 percent disapproval in March. Republicans approve 66 - 22 percent compared to 63 - 18 percent in the last survey, while Democrats disapprove 73 - 15 percent compared to 67 - 11 percent in March. There is still a large gender gap on Kasich: Men split with 44 percent approving and 46 percent disapproving, while women disapprove 51 - 33 percent. "Although it is a long way until November when opponents of SB 5 hope to ask voters to overturn it, at this point there is strong support for repealing Gov. Kasich's signature plan." "Not only does he need to rebuild his image, but the governor will need to move a lot of voters over the next six months if he wants his plan to survive," said Brown. "Voters also say they are opposed to several parts of the new law." Calling for repeal of SB 5 are Democrats 72 - 14 percent and independent voters 56 - 35 percent, while Republicans support the law 58 - 33 percent. Men want repeal 49 - 42 percent, while women back repeal 58 - 31 percent. Voters say 52 - 38 percent that limiting collective bargaining for public employees is not needed to balance the budget. Looking at specifics of SB 5, Ohio voters: Oppose 58 - 35 percent banning strikes by public employees; Support 59 - 34 percent requiring public employees to pay at least 15 percent of their health insurance premiums. Voters in union households split 47 - 46 percent; Oppose 54 - 38 percent preventing public employee unions from bargaining over health care plans; Support 58 - 34 percent, including 50 - 43 percent in union households, requiring public workers to pay at least 10 percent of their wages for their pensions; Support 57 - 35 percent replacing automatic pay increases based on length of service with raises based on merit. Union households are opposed 51 - 44 percent; Oppose 50 - 45 percent eliminating seniority as the sole factor in layoffs. Asked about Kasich's proposed cuts in state spending, 42 percent of voters say they go too far; 15 percent say not far enough and 30 percent say they are about right. This is almost identical to the results of the March survey. Half of the 1,379 registered voters surveyed were asked when it came to balancing the state budget whether only spending should be cut or whether taxes should be raised so there would be fewer spending cuts. Of that group 64 percent said only spending should be cut and 30 percent said taxes should be raised also. The other half of the survey group was given a choice between just spending cuts or taxes hikes on the wealthy. By 50 - 42 percent this group preferred tax hikes on the wealthy which would reduce the need for spending cuts. From May 10 - 16, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,379 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 5. Do you approve or disapprove of the way John Kasich is handling his job as Governor? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Approve 38% 66% 15% 37% 44% 33% 42% Disapprove 49 22 73 47 46 51 44 DK/NA 13 11 11 16 10 16 14 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Approve 37% 36% 32% 31% 44% 47% 26% Disapprove 58 47 51 61 42 44 64 DK/NA 5 18 17 8 15 9 10 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way John Kasich is handling his job as Governor? May 18 Mar 23 Jan 19 2011 2011 2011 Approve 38 30 30 Disapprove 49 46 22 DK/NA 13 23 48 12. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in Ohio today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Very satisfied 3% 5% 2% 2% 4% 2% 2% Smwht satisfied 30 38 25 29 33 27 32 Smwht dissatisfied 32 33 30 34 28 35 33 Very dissatisfied 35 22 42 35 34 35 30 DK/NA 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Very satisfied 2% 2% 4% 2% 3% 4% 1% Smwht satisfied 24 30 33 17 35 35 24 Smwht dissatisfied 34 30 30 34 33 32 28 Very dissatisfied 38 37 33 44 29 28 46 DK/NA 1 1 1 3 - 1 1 TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in Ohio today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? VERY+SMWHT SAT High Low May 18 Mar 23 Jan 19 Jun 29 Apr 29 Mar 21 Mar 23 2011 2011 2011 2010 2010 2007 2011 Very satisfied 3 3 3 3 3 5 3 Smwht satisfied 30 26 28 37 38 49 26 Smwht dissatisfied 32 34 39 34 30 28 34 Very dissatisfied 35 36 28 25 28 16 36 DK/NA 1 1 1 - 1 1 1 15a.(Split Sample) As you may know, there is a new law in Ohio that would limit collective bargaining for public employees. Do you support or oppose limiting collective bargaining for public employees? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Support 38% 61% 18% 36% 40% 36% 33% Oppose 50 30 63 54 50 50 57 DK/NA 12 9 19 10 10 14 10 TREND: As you may know, there is a *new law in Ohio that would limit collective bargaining for public employees. Do you support or oppose limiting collective bargaining for public employees? (*Mar 2011 "proposed" law) May 18 Mar 23 2011 2011* Support 38 41 Oppose 50 48 DK/NA 12 10 15b.(Split Sample) As you may know, there is a new law in Ohio that would limit collective bargaining rights for public employees. Do you support or oppose limiting collective bargaining rights for public employees? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Support 38% 56% 15% 41% 46% 31% 40% Oppose 51 32 76 45 48 54 48 DK/NA 11 13 9 14 6 15 12 TREND: As you may know, there is a *new law in Ohio that would limit collective bargaining rights for public employees. Do you support or oppose limiting collective bargaining rights for public employees? (*Mar 2011 "proposed" law) May 18 Mar 23 2011 2011* Support 38 35 Oppose 51 54 DK/NA 11 11 16. As you may know there is a proposed referendum to repeal this new law. Do you think this new law which limits collective bargaining for public employees should be kept or repealed? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Kept 36% 58% 14% 35% 42% 31% 36% Repealed 54 33 72 56 49 58 52 DK/NA 10 9 14 9 9 12 12 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Kept 35% 35% 29% 27% 38% 45% 26% Repealed 61 51 54 70 54 44 68 DK/NA 4 14 17 3 8 10 6 17. Do you think limiting collective bargaining for public employees is necessary to help balance the state budget or not? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Yes 38% 56% 19% 40% 42% 35% 41% No 52 36 68 53 52 52 50 DK/NA 10 8 13 8 6 14 9 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Yes 38% 39% 33% 27% 39% 43% 24% No 55 49 55 61 53 47 68 DK/NA 7 12 12 12 8 10 8 TREND: Do you think limiting collective bargaining for public employees is necessary to help balance the state budget or not? May 18 Mar 23 2011 2011 Yes 38 37 No 52 55 DK/NA 10 8 18. The new law limiting collective bargaining for public employees would ban all public employee strikes. Do you support or oppose banning all public employee strikes? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Support 35% 53% 17% 35% 41% 30% 40% Oppose 58 39 78 58 55 61 54 DK/NA 7 7 5 7 4 9 6 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Support 35% 31% 34% 27% 44% 38% 26% Oppose 61 59 63 65 51 56 70 DK/NA 4 10 2 8 5 6 4 TREND: The *new law limiting collective bargaining for public employees would ban all public employee strikes. Do you support or oppose banning all public employee strikes? (*Mar 2011 "proposed" law) May 18 Mar 23 2011 2011* Support 35 35 Oppose 58 58 DK/NA 7 7 19. The new law would require public employees to pay at least 15 percent of their health insurance premiums. Do you support or oppose requiring public employees to pay at least 15 percent of their health insurance premiums? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Support 59% 72% 42% 60% 65% 53% 58% Oppose 34 21 49 32 30 38 35 DK/NA 7 7 9 7 6 9 7 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Support 61% 57% 61% 51% 59% 59% 47% Oppose 33 33 35 45 34 33 46 DK/NA 5 10 4 4 7 7 7 TREND: The *new law would require public employees to pay at least 15 percent of their health insurance premiums. Do you support or oppose requiring public employees to pay at least 15 percent of their health insurance premiums? (*Mar 2011 "proposed" law) May 18 Mar 23 2011 2011* Support 59 66 Oppose 34 27 DK/NA 7 8 20. The new law would prevent the public employee unions from bargaining over health insurance plans for public employees. Do you support or oppose preventing the public employee unions from bargaining over health insurance plans for public employees? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Support 38% 55% 21% 36% 42% 34% 43% Oppose 54 36 72 56 53 55 49 DK/NA 8 9 7 8 5 10 8 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Support 35% 33% 44% 37% 45% 44% 33% Oppose 61 56 52 54 49 49 63 DK/NA 5 12 4 8 7 7 5 21. The new law would require public employees to pay at least 10 percent of their wages for their pensions. Do you support or oppose requiring public workers to pay at least 10 percent of their wages for their pensions? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Support 58% 67% 45% 58% 64% 52% 58% Oppose 34 24 44 34 29 38 34 DK/NA 9 8 11 8 7 11 7 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Support 59% 59% 54% 50% 60% 53% 50% Oppose 36 28 38 45 34 38 43 DK/NA 5 12 9 4 5 9 7 22. The new law would replace automatic pay increases based on length of service with increases based on merit. Do you support or oppose replacing automatic pay increases based on longevity with merit pay for public employees? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Support 57% 72% 41% 58% 64% 51% 58% Oppose 35 23 49 35 31 40 30 DK/NA 7 5 10 7 5 9 12 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Support 59% 58% 61% 46% 63% 49% 44% Oppose 37 33 35 42 33 40 51 DK/NA 4 9 5 12 4 11 5 23. The new law would eliminate seniority as the sole factor when determining layoffs. Do you support or oppose eliminating seniority as the sole factor when determining layoffs? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Support 45% 56% 31% 48% 54% 37% 46% Oppose 50 38 64 48 44 55 48 DK/NA 5 6 5 5 3 7 6 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Support 46% 42% 47% 29% 50% 49% 36% Oppose 49 51 47 69 47 48 62 DK/NA 5 7 6 2 3 3 3 24. Do you approve or disapprove of the way John Kasich is handling the state budget? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Approve 35% 63% 12% 35% 44% 27% 40% Disapprove 53 27 75 51 48 57 47 DK/NA 12 9 13 14 8 16 13 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Approve 37% 33% 29% 23% 37% 45% 23% Disapprove 56 51 55 68 48 49 70 DK/NA 6 16 15 8 15 5 7 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way John Kasich is handling the state budget? May 18 Mar 23 2011 2011 Approve 35 31 Disapprove 53 51 DK/NA 12 18 25. How serious do you think Ohio's budget problems are - very serious, somewhat serious, not too serious, or not at all serious? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Very serious 64% 68% 58% 64% 63% 64% 63% Smwht serious 33 27 38 33 32 33 35 Not too serious 2 2 2 2 3 2 1 Not at all serious - - - 1 - 1 - DK/NA 1 2 1 1 2 1 2 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Very serious 61% 66% 64% 61% 64% 58% 58% Smwht serious 34 31 33 33 31 37 37 Not too serious 3 2 1 1 3 1 4 Not at all serious - - 1 - - 2 - DK/NA 1 1 1 5 1 2 1 TREND: How serious do you think Ohio's budget problems are very serious, somewhat serious, not too serious or not at all serious? May 18 Mar 23 Jan 19 Mar 21 Feb 01 2011 2011 2011 2007 2007 Very serious 64 62 69 37 43 Smwht serious 33 33 27 48 43 Not too serious 2 2 2 9 7 Not at all serious - - - 1 1 DK/NA 1 3 2 6 6 26. Do you think Governor Kasich's proposals to balance the state budget are fair or unfair to people like you? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Fair 36% 63% 10% 38% 46% 27% 40% Unfair 53 28 78 51 47 58 49 DK/NA 11 9 12 11 7 15 11 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Fair 38% 34% 31% 18% 41% 42% 25% Unfair 57 53 52 72 45 48 67 DK/NA 5 12 17 10 14 10 8 TREND: Do you think Governor Kasich's proposals to balance the state budget are fair or unfair to people like you? May 18 Mar 23 2011 2011 Fair 36 36 Unfair 53 53 DK/NA 11 11 27. Do you think an increase in taxes is necessary to balance the budget or not? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Yes 30% 21% 38% 32% 31% 28% 22% No 65 76 55 63 64 65 73 DK/NA 5 4 7 5 4 6 5 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Yes 33% 33% 27% 23% 28% 23% 35% No 63 62 69 66 67 71 60 DK/NA 5 5 5 11 5 6 6 28. What do you think about the cuts in state spending that Governor Kasich has proposed in order to balance the state budget? Do you think Kasich's cuts in state spending go too far, not far enough or are they about right? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Too far 42% 17% 69% 39% 35% 48% 37% Not far enough 15 20 9 16 18 13 13 About right 30 53 10 33 37 25 38 DK/NA 12 11 12 12 10 14 12 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Too far 49% 42% 42% 57% 37% 32% 57% Not far enough 12 16 17 10 15 19 12 About right 32 29 24 14 34 38 21 DK/NA 7 13 17 18 14 11 11 TREND: What do you think about the cuts in state spending that Governor Kasich has proposed in order to balance the state budget? Do you think Kasich's cuts in state spending go too far, not far enough or are they about right? May 18 Mar 23 2011 2011 Too far 42 40 Not far enough 15 15 About right 30 30 DK/NA 12 15 29. Do you think that Governor Kasich's spending cuts will help Ohio's economy, hurt Ohio's economy, or not make a difference? WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Help 34% 58% 11% 35% 43% 26% 39% Hurt 32 12 52 31 26 38 26 No difference 26 20 30 27 26 26 27 DK/NA 8 10 8 7 5 11 8 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Help 33% 36% 27% 16% 37% 35% 23% Hurt 34 33 36 38 27 28 42 No difference 26 23 27 34 28 29 29 DK/NA 7 8 10 12 8 8 6 TREND: Do you think that Governor Kasich's spending cuts will help Ohio's economy, hurt Ohio's economy, or not make a difference? May 18 Mar 23 2011 2011 Help 34 31 Hurt 32 35 No difference 26 26 DK/NA 8 8 30a. (Split Sample) Which comes closer to your view regarding Governor Kasich's budget proposal: A) Taxes should not be raised, there should only be spending cuts, or B) Taxes should be raised so that there will be fewer spending cuts. WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Only cuts 64% 77% 52% 63% 65% 64% 68% Taxes/Fewer cuts 30 16 42 32 31 28 25 DK/NA 6 7 5 5 4 8 7 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Only cuts 60% 60% 70% 69% 67% 74% 52% Taxes/Fewer cuts 34 35 23 26 26 18 45 DK/NA 6 4 7 5 7 8 4 TREND: Which comes closer to your view regarding Governor Kasich's budget proposal: A) Taxes should not be raised, there should only be spending cuts, or B) Taxes should be raised so that there will be fewer spending cuts. May 18 Mar 23 2011 2011 A) Only cuts 64 65 B) Taxes/Fewer cuts 30 27 DK/NA 6 9 30b. (Split Sample) Which comes closer to your view regarding Governor Kasich's budget proposal: A) Taxes should not be raised, there should only be spending cuts, or B) Taxes should be raised on the wealthy, so that there will be fewer spending cuts. WtBrnAgn Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Evnglcl Only cuts 42% 69% 25% 36% 45% 39% 47% Tax wealthy/ Fewer cuts 50 23 71 55 50 51 46 DK/NA 8 7 4 9 5 10 7 Union Cntrl NrthE NrthW SthE SthW WstCnt HsHld Only cuts 47% 42% 40% 19% 37% 51% 35% Tax wealthy/ Fewer cuts 45 51 49 70 54 47 57 DK/NA 9 7 11 10 9 2 9
